NPR 2010-07-11

Engineers using undersea robots have removed the containment¹ cap on BP's gushing² oil well in the Gulf³ of Mexico. The next step is to replace the cap with one that fits better. That will allow all of the oil to be funneled⁴ to tankers⁵ on the surface. But before that new cap goes on, crude oil is spewing into the Gulf unchecked. A BP spokesman says installation of the tighter-fitting cap will take 4-7 days.

The government says it is safe to eat seafood⁶ coming out of the Gulf on the outskirts⁷ of the spill. NPR's Allison Keyes tells us it's been testing samples from the area every day.

The National Oceanic & Atmospheric⁸ Administration has closed about 1/3 of federal Gulf waters to fishing as a precaution to ensure that seafood from there is safe to eat. NOAA spokesman Scott Smullen says the agency has been testing species ranging from shrimp⁹ to swordfish.

"We've done a number of samples in and around the close fishing area, and the samples there coming out have been safe."

Smullen says inspectors¹⁰ are checking the seafood for 14 different chemicals.

"We looked for a number of compounds, but they're all what to be called PAHs, which are organic compounds that are associated with oil."

The government has six research ships out in the Gulf and a number of fishing vessels¹¹, which are helping¹² it monitor the levels of oil-based contamination and has started checking samples of seafood within days of the April 20th oil rig explosion that generated the spill. Allison Keyes, NPR News, Washington.

China's Customs Administration is reporting another large trade surplus today amid ongoing¹³ controversy¹⁴ over its exchange rate policies. Steve Beckner of Market News International has more.

China's trade surplus rose to $20 billion in June, much bigger than expected and the largest in nine months. Though China's imports were up 34% from a year earlier, exports were up nearly 44%. While the robust¹⁵ trade results may ease fears of a slowing global recovery, they could also fuel criticism that China is still keeping its currency, the yuan, undervalued to gain an unfair trade advantage. Three weeks ago, Beijing ended two years of fixing the yuan rate against the dollar and let the yuan float higher but only within a limited range. That move enabled the US Treasury¹⁶ in its semi-annual foreign exchange report to avoid labeling it a currency manipulator Thursday, but Senate Banking¹⁷ Committee Chairman Chris Dodd and others charged China is still undervaluing the yuan. For NPR News, I'm Steve Beckner.

President Obama says the government will make it easier for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder¹⁸ to receive federal benefits. Under the new rules to be announced Monday, veterans will no longer have to prove what caused their illness.

Five American troops died today in separate insurgent¹⁹ attacks in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, hundreds of Afghans are protesting against mounting civilian²⁰ deaths.

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The man charged with ten murders in the so-called "Grim Sleeper²¹" case was arrested more than a dozen times over four decades and was in police custody²² many times after the killings²³ began. The LA Times says during that time Lonnie Franklin Jr. was never sent to state prison, and his DNA²⁴ was never put into a California database. One of the murdered victims was killed in July, 2003, when records showed Franklin should have been in county jail for receiving stolen property, but was released early because of overcrowding.

A California's Fire Department is using a first-of-its-kind iPhone application. Sherry Lawson of member station WNKU reports students from Northern Kentucky University helped design the program.

The Fire Protection District in San Ramon, California this week began using an iPhone application that provides a virtual window into the district's 9-1-1 dispatch center. Fire Chief Richard Price says the software allows the district to communicate with its mobile population during disasters via their devices and holds great promise for emergency service providers. The chief says students at Northern Kentucky University did the core engineering for the app.

"People write reviews of application's users, and it's getting almost exclusively top five-star ratings, which is very rare. Almost every review is outstanding."

Users of the free iPhone app called Fire Department can view active incidents and set preferences to be notified on incidents by category, listen to dispatch radio and view photo galleries of significant events. For NPR News, I'm Sherry Lawson in Highland²⁵ Heights, Kentucky.

Uruguay and Germany are battling it out at the World Cup for third place. Right now, the match is tied at 2-2. The big final game is tomorrow as Spain faces off against the Netherlands.

I'm Renita Jablonski, NPR News in Washington

1 containment   

n.阻止，遏制；容量

参考例句：

• Your list might include such things as cost containment,quality,or customer satisfaction.你的清单上应列有诸如成本控制、产品质量、客户满意程度等内容。
• Insularity and self-containment,it is argued,go hand in hand.他们争论说，心胸狭窄和自我封闭是并存的。

2 gushing   

adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话

参考例句：

• blood gushing from a wound 从伤口冒出的血
• The young mother was gushing over a baby. 那位年轻的母亲正喋喋不休地和婴儿说话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

4 funneled   

漏斗状的

参考例句：

• The crowd funneled through the hall. 群众从走廊中鱼贯而过。
• The large crowd funneled out of the gates after the football match. 足球赛后大群人从各个门中涌出。

5 tankers   

运送大量液体或气体的轮船[卡车]( tanker的名词复数 )； 油轮； 罐车； 油槽车

参考例句：

• They should stop offloading waste from oil tankers into the sea. 他们应当停止从油轮上往海里倾倒废弃物。
• The harbour admits large tankers and freighters. 这个港口容得下巨型油船和货轮。

6 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

7 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

8 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

9 shrimp   

n.虾，小虾；矮小的人

参考例句：

• When the shrimp farm is built it will block the stream.一旦养虾场建起来，将会截断这条河流。
• When it comes to seafood,I like shrimp the best.说到海鲜，我最喜欢虾。

10 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

14 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

15 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

16 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

17 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

18 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

19 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

20 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

21 sleeper   

n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺

参考例句：

• I usually go up to London on the sleeper. 我一般都乘卧车去伦敦。
• But first he explained that he was a very heavy sleeper. 但首先他解释说自己睡觉很沉。

22 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

23 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

24 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

25 highland   

n.(pl.)高地，山地

参考例句：

• The highland game is part of Scotland's cultural heritage.苏格兰高地游戏是苏格兰文化遗产的一部分。
• The highland forests where few hunters venture have long been the bear's sanctuary.这片只有少数猎人涉险的高山森林，一直都是黑熊的避难所。